Hanging by a Moment
by obsessed1
Summary: Sheppard is injured and the 'gateroom goes into lockdown.


Teyla had dialled the 'gate back to Atlantis and they were standing around waiting for the all clear from the control room to return when Sheppard felt something slam into his back.

He couldn't work out what it was at first. It was just an odd sensation. It was as if the air had been stolen from his lungs for a minute. Like jumping into ice cold water.

"Well, that was completely pointless." McKay was saying. "If I wanted to gaze at nothingness then I would shrink myself down and jump into one of my minions ears to see the vacuous space that they call brains!"

Something was wrong.

Ronon sighed. "You were the one that wanted to come here."

Sheppard reached for his back and stood there dumbly as McKay glared at Ronon. "I thought there might be something here."

"I thought you said there was nothing in the database."

"There wasn't, but then I thought the Ancients were being sneaky and by not mentioning that there was something here they were _really_ hinting that there was something here but they just didn't want us to find it."

"Why would they-"

Sheppard zoned out on Ronon's reply. He looked at his hand and it was bloody. "Guys?" He leaned against the DHD and blinked dizzily.

"John?" Teyla asked.

His back was aching.

"Sheppard?"

He felt someone grab his arm and realised it was Ronon. "Sheppard?" and then he must have seen something in the trees because he was aiming his weapon and Teyla was beside him with her own gun drawn.

There was a dull pain now and heat. His back felt like it was on fire. He hadn't realised, but he was holding onto the dialling device tightly with both hands, legs wobbling uncontrollably as he tried to maintain balance. He reached back and his fingers brushed against wetness again.

"Sheppard?"

McKay was staring at him with wide panicky eyes and Ronon was firing at someone behind him.

"What-" and that was it, he was falling to the ground and his world narrowed to agonising pain.

-----------

Just as soon as he recognised the ceiling of the 'gate room he was being rolled onto his front and someone was pressing down onto his back. It hurt like a bitch and he told them as much.

"Quit being a baby!"

He smiled. Ronon. "I've been shot… in the back."

God, talking hurt. Come to think of it everything hurt and it sounded like alarms and sirens were blaring in his head. _Warning! You're going to die!_

"Sheppard. Open your eyes!"

And then he realised it wasn't in his head. It was all around him. He could feel the vibrations in the floor as shutters descended. The lights went out shortly after that and they were plunged into darkness. A few flashlights instantly cut through the blackness. Feet were scuffling across the floor, distant voices were asking questions, safety's on weapons were being unlatched. There was so much noise and motion it was making him nauseous.

"What's going on?" he tried to push himself up, but Ronon pinned his shoulders to the ground.

"Stay still buddy."

"What's happening?" He asked and managed to turn him head away from the still shimmering light of the 'gate towards the stairs of the 'gateroom. "What's happening?"

Teyla appeared in his vision. She touched his outstretched hand and gave it a squeeze. "We have lost power. Everything except the Stargate."

"I heard-" he tried to move again.

"Please John. Remain still."

"Is the city in lockdown?"

Teyla was throwing Ronon worried looks and he got it. "We're in lockdown." He placed his forehead against the cool floor. The medical team wouldn't be able to get to him.

"Rodney is doing everything he can." Teyla reassured him.

"He'll figure it out," Ronon agreed.

"Just stay with us."

She released his hand and raced up the stairs to the control room and from where he was lying he could no longer see her or anyone else for that matter. He turned his head back to the 'gate. The 'gate that should have closed down by now.

Ronon pressed harder into his back and it felt like his spine was going to snap under the pressure.

"How bad?"

"You'll be fine."

"Stop…lying."

"You've got a hole in your back. No exit wound."

Sheppard wiggled his toes – at least he hadn't lost the use of his legs. He moved his arm to reach back but Ronon stopped it and pushed it forward. Later he'd learn Ronon did that to stop his hand from connecting with the pool of blood that was rapidly spreading outwards.

"Knew this day… was going to… suck," he groaned. "I stubbed my toe… this morning and…there was no hot water."

"Didn't know you were superstitious."

"And they'd…run out…of oatmeal for breakfast."

"You sound like McKay."

Sheppard couldn't help but smile. Ronon reached into his front pocket and pulled out more field bandages. That wasn't a good sign.

"Why's the 'gate still active?"

Ronon pressed again. "No idea."

"They should…raise-"

"Tried. Doesn't work."

Sheppard nodded and tried to concentrate on breathing. In, out, in, out, in –

At least the alarms had stopped.

In, out, in, out, in

So this is how it ends?

"You're not gonna die."

"Didn't realise…I said that out…loud."

"You didn't. I just know you."

"Seems I don't have…many options right now."

"You always have options."

"Kinda bleeding to death here."

"Not if I have anything to do with it."

"Yeah. I bet. Okay," he said. "I'll chose not to die…today."

Woosley kneeled in front of him. "Colonel, we're doing everything we can. Lorne is trying to cut his way through to the 'gateroom as we speak. Just hang on."

Just hang on. Easy.

"McKay figured it out…yet?"

"Regrettably, no." Woosley couldn't mask his emotions like his team could. The panic, the worry, everything was plain to see.

"He's losing his…touch."

"Don't let him hear you say that," Ronon said. "You won't have hot water for a week next time."

"Oh, so it was…McKay then," Sheppard couldn't help but laugh. Now it all made sense.

Woolsey was staring at him.

"You need to get me away from the…'gate and set up a…" he paused and blinked to remove the darkness creeping into the edges of his vision.

"He wants you to set up a perimeter around the 'gate. We're wide open," Ronon finished for him.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Sheppard thought he was talking about the security measure, but he then realised they were talking about moving him. No, it wasn't a good idea and it was going to hurt a lot but they were an easy target right now.

"Okay," Woolsey ushered over a few helpers, all with flashlights and on three they were pulling him up and Sheppard shouted obscenities until they had him at the side of the steps.

He blacked out at that point.

--------------

Sheppard woke up again when Ronon was pulling off his vest. "What are you-"

Agonising pain cut off his next words and he cursed loudly in every swear word in every language he knew. "What…was that?" he panted when he was moved to sit against the wall.

Ronon squeezed his shoulder. "Stay with me, Sheppard."

His hands were bloody. In fact, there was blood everywhere. God, he was bleeding out…

"Had to stop the blood." He held up some gauze. "I've plugged it for now."

Sheppard shifted but he couldn't really feel anything. His whole body seemed to have shut down and even his legs felt numb. He wiggled his toes again just to make sure they still worked.

There were people milling around, voices overhead and soldiers positioned in front of the 'gate. There were a few bodies lying in front of the Stargate, unmoving.

"What's-" he raised his arm and pointed, lacking the energy to speak now. He hated being useless.

"They've been sending people through," Ronon told him. "We're waiting for the next wave."

Sheppard nodded and reached for his p90. His co-ordination was off so Ronon grabbed the fallen weapon and placed it in his hands and he balanced it on his knee. "Any luck with getting the power back up?"

Ronon shook his head.

Teyla appeared beside him and patted his arm. "Rodney is trying everything he can, but there is no power." She shared a look with Ronon.

"What about Lorne? He made it through that door yet?"

"The doors were not meant to be broken through easily."

"Figures."

"But they are trying."

Sheppard nodded and his eyes drifted closed. He felt someone tapping his cheeks and raising his head.

"M' still here," he said, forcing his eyes open.

Ronon didn't release him. "Fight it, Sheppard. You're not going down this way."

"I'm fighting," Sheppard told him. "Just tired."

"I know you are tired John, but we will figure this out."

He wasn't sure if they would or not. He was bleeding heavily. Ronon might have tried to staunch the flow of blood, but his back was soaking wet and he knew he didn't have much time. If the blood loss didn't kill him then the shock would. Damn he was freezing.

"I'm not going..,to die," Sheppard said. "Have to get McKay back for…the shower thing."

"What shower thing?" Teyla asked.

"McKay turned off the hot water to his quarters."

Teyla rolled her eyes. "Is this about-"

Ronon grinned and Sheppard didn't understand why.

A figure appeared through the Stargate and every soldier started to fire on them until they dropped to the floor. Sheppard depressed the trigger on his own weapon, added to the fire to feel useful, but he didn't hit anyone. If anything, his rebounding bullets were a danger to his own men. Before he even realised it, he had dropped his weapon.

"John!" Teyla grabbed him by the arm and shook him. "Stay with us!"

------------------

He kept fading in and out. It was confusing. One minute he was sat upright and talking to his team-mates and the next he was on his back again and staring at the ceiling with his legs in the air. From this position, he could see the viewing platform above him and the worried faces peering down over the railings. He spotted McKay, pacing back and forth, hands waving in the air.

He could hear Ronon somewhere behind him. His voice was raised. Angry.

"Tell us what we need to know!"

Sheppard tried to turn his head, but all he could make out was soldiers huddled together and someone lying on the floor.

"If you don't tell me, then you'll end up like him."

There was the slap of flesh on flesh and then somebody was coughing and spitting.

"How do we stop this?"

"You cannot!" the stranger shouted. "The device will be deeply lodged, broadcasting a signal for the scavengers to come here. Until it is removed, the ancestral ring will remain open and your people will finally succumb to our onslaught. We have many men. All willing to die trying."

"What about the thirty eight minutes thing?" Ronon asked.

"The 'gate will stay open indefinitely."

There was another sound. People talking in hushed voices. The unmistakable sound of a safety being unlatched followed by expended bullets and a body dropping to the ground.

"John," Teyla had her hand on his cheek.

"They shooting-" he wanted to continue his sentence, but Teyla looked so worried.

"John, stay with us."

He wanted to stay. He really did.

-----------------

He was lying on Woolsey's desk. They'd moved him. When or how, he didn't know. He groaned and his teeth chattered. He was freezing. The shock was going to kill him. He concentrated on taking deep breaths and on the noises around him. He couldn't die. Not like this.

"You cannot possibly think of doing this," he heard Teyla say and her voice was shaky.

"It's the only way."

"I do not believe that!" Teyla argued.

"If it continues to transmit, then the 'gate won't close and more people will come. We've already lost two men."

"But you know what that means?" McKay snapped at Ronon. "We don't have any supplies in here."

"We have a field kit," An unrecognisable voice suggested.

"Any anaesthetic in there? Any morphine? Hmmm?" McKay said. "We can't even guarantee this will work."

"It'll work."

"He could have been lying to you!"

"McKay, he had a gun to his head. He wasn't lying."

"This will kill him. He'll go into shock and die before you manage to get that bullet out!"

"Sheppard would want me to do this," Ronon said. "You know he would."

"Of course he would!" McKay told him. "He's got a hero complex. If you told him jumping off a bridge would magically produce a ZedPM he would do it."

"There must be another way," Woolsey butted in.

"Please don't do this Ronon," Teyla pleaded. "At least wait until Major Lorne has-"

"He's taking too long!" Ronon's voice was getting closer. "You know he's going to die if he waits any longer. He's lost too much blood."

"We know that. It's covering the 'gateroom floor!" and McKay sounded upset.

"I do this. You either help or-"

"Or what? You'll just do it anyway?"

"McKay!"

"Is anyone…going to ask me?" Sheppard said to the ceiling.

Several worried faces appeared over his.

"John, how long have you been awake?"

"Long enough, Teyla." He said. "This thing, what I've been shot with, it's causing all of this?"

Ronon nudged McKay, who had been standing there with a shocked expression. "Uh, yes John."

He was calling him John. It must be bad.

"They're scavengers. They shoot people before they go through the 'gate so the bullet or device or whatever gets lodged in it's victim and because most people don't leave their de-" he shook his head. "-injured behind, it means the device gets taken to whatever planet they're from. It transmits a signal to keep the 'gate open and to shut down any equipment and they raid the place until nothing's left."

"And the only way to get rid of it, is to-" Sheppard paused. He understood perfectly. "Do it."

Ronon nodded. "Knew you'd understand."

"Who did we lose?"

They looked confused.

"The soldiers. Who did we lose?"

"Abarah and Conitelli," Teyla provided. "They were shielding you."

Sheppard clamped his eyes shut. They were good men.

"Colonel, I hope you understand that there is no other option for us. We cannot sustain more attacks and-"

"It's okay Woolsey. I get it." Sheppard swallowed thickly. "Just get it out."

"As soon as we have the device, we'll destroy it and get Doc Keller in here," Ronon said.

Sheppard stared up at the ceiling again. "Just, be quick buddy."

"I need help rolling him over," Ronon said and hands gripped his legs and his shoulders to turn him over.

His t-shirt was pulled up to his shoulder blades and Sheppard grunted as the gauze that had been stuffed into the wound was removed. He instantly felt blood rolling down his sides.

"This is going to hurt," Sheppard mumbled.

Ronon appeared next to him and leaned in close. "You want me to stun you?"

Sheppard shook his head. "No. Might not wake up again."

They all bustled around him. Woolsey had a medical case beside him that would only contain the very basics. Ronon was pulling latex gloves onto his hands, as was Teyla and the door to the office was closed.

It didn't matter. The office had glass windows. Everyone could see him lying there.

"I'm gonna do this as quick as I can," Ronon said, holding up what looked like a pair of pliers.

Sheppard braced himself.

"Sorry about this," Ronon said.

"W-wait!" Sheppard snapped. "If this doesn't work and-"

"-Cut it out Sheppard. You'll be fine."

"But if it doesn't work and I-" he licked his lips. "Just don't feel bad, okay?"

"It'll work."

Sheppard was about to answer, was about to tell him that he knew he had to do it, but all rational thought was forced out when Ronon started poking at the wound in his back.

Agony. Pure and simple.

He was screaming and trying to push off the table. Hands were pinning him in place and telling him that he was doing fine. His back felt like it was on fire. He'd broken his leg before and suffered crepitus, but this just didn't compare. It felt like every nerve ending in his body was rubbing against itself.

"Stnnnnmmee." He managed to get out.

He shouted and cursed some more and then he felt the comforting sizzle and burn of a stun blast.

--------------

When Sheppard opened his eyes again he was in the infirmary. He was lying on his front and he felt kind of floaty. Nice floaty. Good drugs, floaty.

"It worked then?" he said, to no-one in particular.

"Of course it worked," McKay said from beside him.

Sheppard turned his head to face him. "I'm not dead then?"

"You were close," Ronon told him and Sheppard hadn't even realised he was sitting there or that Teyla was asleep on the next bed over.

"Can i-"

"You'll be able to walk."

Sheppard closed his eyes and thanked whatever gods were watching over him.

"A few inches over and you wouldn't."

"I thought," he said.

"So did we."

"We knew you would make it, John," Teyla said, sitting up in the bed. "We knew you would hold on."

"Had to," Sheppard told her.

A comfortable silence settled between them and he couldn't resist it.

"I had to, to get McKay back for freezing me half to death this morning."

McKay's chair scrapped back suddenly and he looked incredulous. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Busted!" Ronon teased.

"Well, you deserved it," McKay snarked. "You said, Atlantis would run perfectly well without me and I thought I would show you just how easy it was to, say, turn something off that should be on."

"I said, Atlantis wouldn't be the same without you," Sheppard corrected with a sigh.

"Oh, you did?"

"Yes, you idiot!"

"Oh," McKay looked embarrassed. "Well, thank you and I'm sorry."

"Although, Ronon technically saved the day. You didn't exactly do much as I recall today."

"Oh and you helped significantly by bringing the thing that affected the city here and then as _I r_ecall, you sat around while some of us worked!"

"I wanted a rest," Sheppard chided.

"We should let you sleep," Teyla said. "It has been a long day."

"Yeah," Sheppard tried to get into a more comfortable position. "I need to get my strength back so I can kick McKay's ass!"

McKay scrapped his chair up and rolled his eyes. "You are such a child."

Teyla said goodnight and pushed McKay out of the infirmary. Ronon lingered behind for a minute and sat in perfect silence.

"I'm not so good at-"

"Me either."

"Thanks Ronon."

Ronon moved into McKay's chair and put his feet up on the bed rail.

"You don't have to stay."

"I know."

Sheppard closed his eyes and Ronon cleared his throat.

"You know, and you never heard me say this," he warned. "Atlantis wouldn't be the same without you either. Glad you hung on."

Sheppard smiled. "Yeah, me too."


End file.
